Latvian households offered to procure energy from wind farms

To continue development of Baltic renewable energy production and promote new solutions to reduce energy costs, Latvia has commenced a pilot project for households, offering them to procure electricity directly from local wind farms.
This will assist with gradual discontinuation of imports of energy resources, because wind energy turbines already show considerably lower production costs. This helps offer electricity for a price that is almost 30% below the offers available on Latvia’s market, BNN was told by energy company Enefit.
The pilot project provides new opportunities for user/producer cooperation with mutual benefits. Households are offered the option to sign contracts with wind energy producers and agree on a fixed long-term electricity prices. The producer, on the other hand, receives consumption guarantees and the ability to plan their development in a stable environment.

Currently the agreement with Baltic wind farm developers provides for a fixed price for six-year periods, guaranteeing a price of 0.164 EUR/KWh. For comparison – the current fixed average electricity price in Latvia is around 0.23 EUR/KWh.

«The rise of electricity costs is the new reality dictated by Latvia’s dependence on imports of energy resources. In spring we usually see a price drop, which is largely due to high water levels in the reservoirs of hydro electric power plants in the region. But it is already clear that electricity prices will fluctuate a lot in the future. In some periods prices may grow considerably. At the same time, Baltic wind farms can already offer significantly cheaper electricity. The volume is what’s currently limited. Nevertheless, the more users procure green energy, the more such power plants will be developed in Baltic States, expanding accessibility of cheap electricity,» said Enefit board chairman Krists Mertens.
«With this pilot project we want to demonstrate that we can realistically talk about the energy independence of Latvia and Baltic region in general, and it does not mean increased costs. It is more the opposite – provide users with access to green energy. Production costs of green energy can be competitive every without state aid. Additionally, this way we can also contribute to sustainable development of the national economy and reduction of CO2 emissions,» comments Mertens.
Results of the survey conducted in March 2022 shows that 65% of residents are prepared to support Latvia’s transition to production of electricity using renewable energy resources. Currently renewable energy production output is limited. The pilot project is intended to allow 10 000 households procure electricity from Enefit Green wind farms in Finland, Estonia and Lithuania directly.
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According to Mertens, a version of this solution was tested in the business client segment last year: «Businesses from different segments have signed long-term contracts with wind farms. Experience shows that energy costs of wind farms offer up 70% savings, considering the rapid fluctuations of the market price. For wind farms this arrangement has provided guaranteed flow of investments, which helps expand production. By including renewable energy power plants in efforts for development of households, we can help promote development of modern local energy production in the next five-year perspective.»